During each week, you have 168
possible hours to use as you see fit. The typical workweek lasts about 40
hours, although it may be more for small business owners. Some of those hours
must be spent attending to personal needs such as eating and sleeping, but you
can organize the rest of your time in whatever way works best for you.
Time management is a vital skill that
business owners must develop. Without this skill, it’s almost impossible to run
a business successfully.
Remember
the 80/20 Rule
One of the most effective strategies
to adopt when prioritizing time is the 80/20 rule. This rule essentially states
that 80% of the value of everything you do lies in 20% of your tasks. For
instance, if you have 10 items on your to-do list, chances are at least two of
those items are worth more than every other item on the list combined.
With this principle in mind, it is
your job as a small business owner to regularly evaluate and reevaluate all of
your activities. You’ll be determining if a task falls in the 80% category or
the 20% category. High-value tasks will require more of your focus and
attention until completion.
How to Organize Your Task List
Figuring out how to categorize some
tasks may be challenging. If you’re really busy running your business, you may
have a hard time evaluating tasks. Here are a few quick tips to make this a bit
easier for you:
Identify Important Tasks
Write down important goals and
visualize them. Visualization is a wonderful strategy for coming up with tasks.
Sometimes jotting down each goal on a separate slip of paper can help you with
organizing these tasks later.
Organize to Prioritize
Use a timeline to prioritize your
tasks. Of course, some tasks might move down the list, but everything should be
checked off in order. It’s vital to follow a logical process when you organize
your to-do list. Leave out things that are not essential to your goals.
Create a Schedule
A schedule can help you keep track of
when certain goals must be met. A calendar or schedule book can be used to write
these tasks and steps down. Pencil things in to leave room for plans to change,
because plans often do. If there isn’t some built-in flexibility, then undue
stress can be experienced.
Stay Focused
Stay focused on important tasks.
Don’t allow mistakes or issues that pop up get in the way of completing the
20%. Instead of focusing on problems and issues, discover new ways to overcome
any obstacles. Remember that it’s the 20% that carries the business. The rest
is extraneous.
Business owners who aren’t able to
successfully prioritize their time can feel overwhelmed. Additionally, mistakes
can be made, and problems can arise from poor time management. These issues are
avoidable. It just takes a small amount of time to plan ahead.
Sometimes it takes practice to use
this method to manage time, but it can take a load off the shoulders of small
business owners. No one can do it all. Just focus on the 20% and take the rest
as it comes.
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